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School leader Terri Smith said she plans to ask students to notify the school soon if they intend to return in the 2013-14 school year. ENCORE will not be participating in the OneApp, the Recovery School District’s unified enrollment process, which offered its services to the charter school this year.

Smith said the school has 181 students and next year will aim to enroll 240. The school currently offers pre-k through third-grade and fifth-grade. The school plans to add fourth- and sixth-grade classes for the 2013-14 school year.

Smith said the deadline to turn in applications for the school is March 1 and the enrollment lottery will be held March 6.

“We can almost fill our pre-k seats with siblings,” she said.

Member Herb Patterson said the school has dropped one bus route, which will save $25,000. He said board continues to closely monitor food service and transportation expenses.

Board members approved a board member application form, which they discussed at a retreat last fall. The board also approved its meeting minutes from December.

Board members Herb Patterson, Kesana Durand, Frannie Montegut, Melody Baham and Sehzad Sooklal were present. The meeting began at 6:35 p.m. and adjourned at 6:54 p.m.

Marta Jewson covers education in New Orleans for The Lens. She began her reporting career covering charter schools for The Lens and helped found the hyperlocal news site Mid-City Messenger. Jewson returned to New Orleans in the fall of 2014 after covering education for the St. Cloud Times in Minnesota. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with majors in journalism and social welfare and a concentration in educational policy studies.

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